Shanghai Expo 2010: Architects Mass Studies have unveiled their design for the Korean pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China.

The shape of the pavilion will be derived from letters forms of the Korean alphabet, Han-geul.

Its surface will be covered in white panels with a relief of letters in four different sizes and around 40,000 aluminium panels decorated in bright colours by Korean artist Ik-Joong Kang.

The ground floor will house a 3D abstract map.

Mountains form seating for visitors and a five metre wide artificial stream cools the area, where visitors will wait to enter the exhibition.

This area will be shaded by the main structure of the pavilion, containing the exhibition space, suspended seven metres above.

The pavilion will include a large exhibition space, VIP lounge, press room, conference room, restaurant, administrative facilities and a roof garden.

Model photos by Kyehnyong Kwak.

Here's some more information from Mass Studies:

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Context
The World Expo 2010, held in Shanghai, China, is expected to be the largest world expo to date. The theme of the exposition will be “Better City, Better Life,” and the event is to take place from May 1 until October 31, 2010, with more than 230 participating countries (48 of them having their own pavilions) to accommodate the 70 million expected visitors.

Site
The Korea Pavilion is situated in Zone A, directly neighboring the Japan Pavilion and the Saudi Arabia Pavilion, and in close proximity to the China Pavilion. The site is around 6000m2, and it is one of the largest lots within the Expo compound. Located on the perimeter of the zone, the site takes advantage of the views out towards the Huangpu River and the Shanghai skyline in the distance.

Concept
With land culture (China) and sea culture (Japan) surrounding the peninsula, Korea has been permeable to imported cultures and global influences, whose progressive mix defines contemporary Korean society. Using ‘convergence’ as the main theme, the Korea Pavilion is an amalgamation of ‘sign’ (symbol) and ‘space’: signs become spaces, and simultaneously, spaces become signs.

Sign as Space
Han-geul, the Korean alphabet, is the prime element of ‘signs’ within the pavilion. The overall volume, lifted 7.2m above ground level, is created by converging these Han-geul letters, allowing signs to create the exhibition space, and so that the visitors can experience their geometry through horizontal, vertical and diagonal movements. The primary geometries that compose the Han-geul letters are universal to other cultures, thus acting as a sort of ‘open’ set of signs that is engaging to everyone.

The exterior surfaces of the Korea Pavilion are clad in 2 types of pixels: Han-geul Pixels and Art Pixels. Han-geul Pixels are white panels with a relief of letters in four different sizes whose combination forms the majority of the exterior, mainly the peripheral surfaces. Most of the non-peripheral surfaces are composed of Art Pixels, which are 45cm x 45cm aluminum panels created by a Korean artist, Ik-Joong Kang, who is renowned for creating massive art walls out of small hand-painted tiles, either self-produced or by gathering from around the world (thus being another type of convergence). About 40,000 of these panels will texture the façade, contributing a bright palette of colors, hope, and unity throughout the Korea Pavilion.

The surfaces will project different atmospheres during the day and night, with light and shadows creating different textures. Sequential lighting is installed behind the Hangeul Pixels to highlight the individual letters on the exterior façade at night, further animating the pavilion as a sign (like a text message) on a larger scale.

Space as Sign
By understanding a map to be a type of a sign that depicts space, we’ve translated the ground level piloti space as a sign, by making an abstract 1/300 scale 3D map of a characteristic Korean city as its surface. The rest of the building, containing the exhibition space, is suspended 7m above to create a 40m x 77m free, open space generated by the map.

The map becomes a semi-exterior landscape that expresses the converging of mountains, water, and a dense metropolitan area, as exemplified by Seoul, the national capital. This ground floor is shaded by the main volume and additionally cooled by the a replica of a river (modeled after the Han River) flowing from one corner to the other as a 5m wide, 79m long artificial stream, while the notable mountains become stages/seating/spaces for the visitors to enjoy shows while queued in line to enter the exhibition space above, to improve the typical inverted condition that most visitors spend more time waiting than experiencing the exhibition itself. There is also a series of LFD monitors, a large LFD screen and two water screen projections to assist the interaction with the visitors.

Program
Upon entering the second level of the pavilion, the floor opens up to a gigantic 3,700m2 exhibition space, that is enclosed in complete darkness, to provide a controlled environment for the exhibition. We take advantage of the space by opening it up as an open flat plane, to be able to handle an extremely heavy load of visitor traffic. The level above contains the VIP Lounge, Press Room, Conference Room, and programs for the staff and administration. On the opposite end of the exhibition space (at the north-western side of the building) is a restaurant with its own self-operating circulation, and an access to a roof garden that overlooks the Huangpu River and Shanghai’s skyline

More Dezeen stories about Expo 2010:

.

Austrian pavilion by Span and Zeytinoglu

Danish pavilion by BIG

Polish pavilion by Wojciech Kakowski, Natalia Paszkowska and Marcin Mostafa

UAE pavilion by Foster + Partners

British pavilion by Thomas Heatherwick

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Korean architects Mass Studies have designed an extension to Seoul City Hall.

The new building will incorporate a symphony hall, office space and a central public courtyard.

Here's some more information from Mass Studies:

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New Seoul City Hall: Unity and Multiplicity

This proposal is an attempt to unify the old Seoul City Hall and the new Seoul City Hall to create “one” space that is also at the same time of “many,” as an opportunity to create an architectural and urban embodiment of unity and multiplicity that is required by contemporary democracy in a most tangible way.

To achieve Unity and Multiplicity simultaneously through architecture, the new Seoul City Hall should establish a single identity as a complex, while sensitively maintaining respect to the iconic old City Hall structure and drawing from the diverse urban context the site’s full potential. Hence, the new proposal should be formed by the complex conditions that have existed within and beyond the site.

The new Seoul City Hall that is the spatial result of combining potentials will not only synthesize the past and the present, but define what is “public” in a completely new way. The purpose of this proposal is for the new City Hall to create a continuity with Seoul’s six hundred year old history while co-existing harmoniously with the larger future of the 21st century and beyond; to help create an identity that the diverse 10 million-plus citizens of Seoul can share.

Spatial Layout Strategy

City Hall ‘Madang’ (Courtyard)

‘City Hall Madang’ (courtyard) at the center of the complex can connect and unite all of the diverse programs along the perimeter of varying heights. Since Madang can be approached from all directions within the site and is accessible to all as a public urban lobby, it is the most public of spaces inside the complex. This Madang will not only be an iconic open space defined by the old and new City Hall, but also function as a unique urban catalyst for social activities of Seoulites. Madang will be linked powerfully to an iconic public space, Seoul Plaza to the south, and present another iconic three-dimensional space that contrasts with the Seoul Plaza’s flatness.

Symphony Hall

The Symphony Hall, the most public of the programs, will be located on the four story podium on the northwestern side facing Sejongro in the new City Hall extension. The Hall will contribute a new element that corresponds to the larger context of Sejongro with its significant public spaces, such as Gyeongbok Palace, Duksoo Palace, and the Sejong Cultural Center. The Hall’s foyer will be located on the site’s prominent northwestern corner and act as another entrance to Seoul City Hall.

Office Towers

Offices, the largest program element, will be contained in two connected towers of different heights on the northeast corner of the site.By placing the towers as far as possible within the site from the existing City Hall, this layout avoids overshadowing the old building’s iconic stature. Its two-tower composition functions as one, yet is articulated into two towers 82.4m (18 storeys) and 107.3m high (24 storeys)—another way to prevent overpowering the old City Hall with one large vertical mass while maintaining harmony with surrounding office towers of similar scale. Moreover, this layout creates a functional and spatial urban continuity by internalizing the characteristics of surrounding high-rise buildings located along the northern and eastern streets appropriately.

An iconic building that represents “Place” rather than “Object”

Seoul, against other fast-developing metropolises in Asia, is currently at fierce competition to raise an iconic structure to represent the city globally. The majority of these cases attempt to resolve this issue by creating a sculptural object of powerful aura, but this method remains effective only if there is suitable urban context to support and justify the addition. The specificity of Seoul near the City Hall causes discrepancy with this iconic approach, due to the complexity and the fast, compressed developmental nature (which becomes a common trait among contemporary Asian urban conditions).

The new Seoul City Hall has thus far struggled, trying to incorporate a strong object-based architecture, and therefore had not been received with empathy due to it’s rejection of—and from—the site. Additionally, there had not been a clear enough vision to engage the old iconic City Hall building with the new structure which would inevitably be overpowering in scale. Therefore, we are suggesting an alternative proposal that focuses on remaining respectful to the underlying context of the old structure and its vicinity, to optimize their conditions and enhance their advantages by becoming an ensemble that is unobstructively synthesized.

As a result from our previously stated strategies of unity and multiplicity, the space that works as a “place” rather than an “object” is the City Hall Madang, the courtyard space.

Our proposal for the City Hall is not an object-based architecture that is quick to reveal all of its virtues from several kilometers away, but a spatial experience that is fully integrated into the city to be re-discovered as a ‘place.’ The exterior forms an appropriate composition with the surroundings, with unique and inviting urban elements as a unified whole from all sides. If the existing City Hall building could be generalized as a façade, or simply, a single face, then the new proposal could be understood as a continuing array of faces whose dynamic quality would draw the people in from all directions.

Once they are inside, they will be submerged into the strong, central outdoor space of the Madang, re-defining the space as a dynamic interaction of public functions. Through this Madang, the City Hall will become one, while the exterior is composed of multiple traits to embrace different types of people, and thus interact with each of their daily lives. This is the vision that we have for the multiplicity and unity of the new Seoul City Hall.

Building Summary:

Project Name: SeoulCity Hall Extension Design Competition

Location: Taepyeong-Ro, 1-31, Junggo, Seoul

Zoning: Commercial District, Central Aesthetic Zone, Fire Prevention zone

Site area: 12,709.4 ㎡

Total building area: 94,398.1㎡

Site coverage area: 7,520.7㎡

Site coverage ratio: 59.17% (Regulation 60%)

Floor-area ratio: 486.07% (Regulation 600%)

Structure: SRC+RC

Scope: 24F, B5

Height: 107.3M (Regulation 110M)

Finish: Double Glazed Low-E Glass, Granite Stone, Acid Etched Aluminum Plate

Parking: 124 (8 Handicap)

Landscapeing area: 2,087.44㎡

Public land area: 1,286.74㎡

Architects:Mass Studies Minsuk Cho (Principal), Kisu Park (Partner), Joungwon Lee (Associate), Hyunseok Jung (Project Manager), Vin Kim(Project Manager), Joonhee Lee (Project Manager), Hyunjung Kim (Senior Designer), Ranhee Kim (Senior Designer), Jongseo Kim (Senior Designer), Sangkyu Jeon (Senior Designer), Bumhyun Chun (Senior Designer), Chungwhan Park, Jisoo Kim, Wonbang Kim, Sungpil Won, Jieun Lee, Moonhee Han, Jangwon Choi, Dongwon Yoon, Jonas Eppen

Consulting Engineer:Ove ARUP & PartnersRory McGowan(Project Director), Chas Pope(Project Manager/Structural Engineer), Fei Tong(Structural Engineer), Joan Luo(Structural Engineer), Henry Huang(MEP Engineer), Frederick Wong(Building Physics Engineer), Antony Ho(Building Physics Engineer), Hang Zhao(Support)

Local Structural Adviser: The Structural Engineering Co.

Local MEP Adviser: Hana Consulting Engineers Co.

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Oktokki Space Center is the third of our trio of projects by Korean architects Mass Studies.

Completed in May this year, the building houses a space theme park.

The centre is on Ganghwa Island, an island in the estuary of the Han River.

See our earlier stories about Mass Studies:
Xi Gallery in Pusan
Ann Demeulemeester Shop in Seoul
Ring Dome at Storefront in New York

Here's the info about the space center from the architects:

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Oktokki Space Center

This project provides a way to bring three potentially incompatible elements together to clash and coexist: a mountain (the site), a large-capacity, boxlike space (exhibition halls), and a tower (observation point).

This collision creates an irrefutably new spectacle, but the intent is to sustain the mountain’s continuity within the resulting synthetic assemblage and achieve an expanded topographical experience through the site’s new functions.

The Oktokki Space Center is a theme park situated on an incline over approximately 14,854 m2 of land on Ganghwa Island. The Center is comprised of educational exhibits and indoor/outdoor interactive facilities for children, focusing on space science and space aeronautics.

The 4737m2–hall contains exhibition space and visitor lounges over four stories of varying heights, the tallest being 13m. A wide range of exhibition and audiovisual facilities can be arranged freely, with diverse interconnections at all levels.

The majority of the building is absorbed by the sloped topography, its exposure minimized, while the building’s upper section extends into the surrounding landscape to create a new, different topography.

At the same time, the variety of levels and movement paths inside the building expand outdoors to become one with the entire site’s pedestrian continuity/circulation network.

This movement network is made up of flat terrain or gentle inclines, expanding in graded steps from the building and connecting to diverse outdoor facilities, while one of these movement strands grows vertically to form the observation tower.

The tower is 35m above ground and equipped with a telescope. This telescope can be used to study the island by day and turns the tower into an astronomical observatory by night.

Stainless steel mesh is the primary material used on the outside of the building. The mesh follows the movement pattern, functioning as a railing while covering the exposed building surface. It becomes a unifying element that defines the overall building and site with its fluid movements.

Project Data

architect: cho,minsuk + park,kisu
design team: mass studies
location: 1026-2 duun-ri, bureun-myeon, ganghwa-gun, incheon, korea
site area: 14,854 m2
gross floor area: 1,748.25 m2
total floor area: 4,736.91 m2
building-to-land ratio: 11.77 %
floor area ratio: 13.98 %
building scope: 4f,b2
structure: rc
finishing: stainless steel mesh
design period: 2004.12.~2005.10.
construction period: 2006.03.~2007.05.

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